Be The Match® is a global leader in bone marrow transplantation. We conduct research to improve transplant outcomes provide support and resources for patients, and partner with a global network.
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Every patient — from coping to hoping. Every donor or volunteer — from altruism to inspiration. These stories inspire our work and compel mission advocates to give financially, join the registry, volunteer or spread the word.
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A marrow transplant may be someone’s only hope for a cure. Learn how marrow donation works, the steps of a patient transplant, steps of donation, and factors that can impact the likelihood of finding a match.
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Be The Match® is dedicated to helping you and your family get the support and information you need to make decisions about your healthcare. Blood cancer patients are at the very heart of our mission.
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Board of Directors

John R. Wingard, M.D., Chair

Dr. Wingard is professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Price Eminent Scholar, and deputy director for Research of the University of Florida Health Cancer Center. He has held a number of leadership positions over the years, including co-chair of the Late Effects Working Committee of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, chair of the Steering Committee of the NHLBI/NCI Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network, member of the board of directors of the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapies, and he is a past president of the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He has published more than 340 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 50 book chapters, and has edited four books. He served on the NMDP Board of Directors from 2007-2012 and has served on multiple NMDP committees, including Patient Services (past co-chair), New Technologies, Cord Blood, and Board Development committees. Dr. Wingard is medical director of a NMDP transplant center, collection center and cord blood bank. He received his undergraduate training at Yale University, his medical training at Johns Hopkins University and has been on the faculty at Johns Hopkins University, Emory University, and now University of Florida for the past 17 years.

Lynn Abrahamsen, Vice Chair

Lynn Abrahamsen has held leadership positions in health care for over 35 years. Most recently she served as chief operating officer and then chief executive officer of Hennepin Healthcare System in Minneapolis, until she retired in 2009. She led this complex public hospital and clinic system through a governance change to a 501c3 public benefit corporation with an operating board structure, and designed and optimized new operating systems related to human resources, purchasing and strategic planning. She also successfully installed integrated electronic records and developed a new strategic plan and master facility plan. These changes resulted in capital investment for additional bed capacity, renewal of the physical plant at the main campus and the addition of community clinic sites. She has a special interest in assuring access to quality health services for all. Abrahamsen has served extensively on boards of community organizations throughout her career.

William (Bill) G. Pomeroy, Secretary

Bill Pomeroy is founder and CEO of CXtec and TERACAI. CXtec is a global provider of new and certified pre-owned networking and voice equipment and data center cabling products. TERACAI provides core networking infrastructures that help organizations meet their business goals by enabling virtualization, unified communications and cloud applications. He is also a leukemia survivor, diagnosed with AML in 2004 and received a transplant in 2005. Three years later, he met his donor, an experience that had a profound impact on his life. After his diagnosis, he established The William G. Pomeroy Foundation, which focuses on two of his great passions: historic preservation and research, and funding programs related to blood cancers. Understanding the need to increase diversity of the Be The Match Registry, the foundation works closely with NMDP to conduct recruitment drives in diverse communities. Pomeroy received his MBA from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelor of Management Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Daniel D. Arndt, Immediate Past Chair

Daniel D. Arndt is a past chair of the NMDP Audit Committee. Under his leadership, NMDP staff and the committee compiled and completed necessary audits, created and implemented an Audit Committee Charter, created the Whistleblower Policy, and have begun a reporting process to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As staff vice president and General Auditor at 3M for more than a decade, Arndt was directly involved in addressing changes to comply with corporate governance requirements throughout the world. He also participated in initiatives that helped 3M be successful in the ever-changing competitive and regulatory environments. He has served on various boards, including the Institute of Internal Auditors, Twin Cities Chapter; Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce; and International School of Brussels, Belgium. Arndt received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Northwestern University and earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

Jennifer Jones, Esq.

Jennifer Jones is the chief executive officer and executive director of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), a prominent New York City social policy and advocacy organization with over 200 member human services agencies operating throughout New York City. Prior to joining FPWA, she served as senior vice president of United Way of New York City. In 2006 Austin was appointed New York City's first Family Services coordinator by Mayor Bloomberg. She also served as deputy commissioner for the Administration for Children's Services, Civil Rights deputy bureau chief for Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, and vice president for LearnNow/Edison Schools Inc. Jones has served on numerous boards including: Children for Children, the New York Women's Bar Association Foundation, and the Bethany Baptist Church Child Development Center. She currently serves as chair of the City of New York Procurement Policy Board, board member of the Icla da Silva Foundation, the Citizen's Committee for Children, and the New York Blood Center. Jones earned her law degree from Fordham University School of Law, a Master's degree in Management and Policy from New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and a Bachelor's degree from Rutgers University. She resides in Brooklyn with her husband and children.

Robert L. Baitty

Robert Baitty is a transplant survivor, having had an unrelated-donor bone marrow transplant for myelodysplastic syndrome at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance in 1997. He has served on the board of directors of the National Marrow Donor Program since October 2012. He retired from Federal service in April, 2012. He directed the Blood Stem Cell Transplantation Programs in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), from 1998 to 2012. These programs operate, through contracts, the U.S. system for helping patients find donors for blood stem cell transplants and collects data on the results of those transplants. Previously, Baitty held a variety of positions within HRSA and HHS. Mr. Baitty holds a BS in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University.

Ann R. Berkey

Ann R. Berkey is senior vice president of Public Affairs for San Francisco-based McKesson Corporation, a Fortune 14 corporation and the world’s largest supply management and health care information technology company. She is responsible for all federal, state, and international government relations activities and corporate public policy strategy. Prior to McKesson, she was a principal at Berkey Associates, a government relations consulting firm in the Bay Area, and managed state government relations for Shell Oil Company in the western region and federal government relations in their Houston headquarters. Berkey is on the Advisory Board of the Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation and on the board of directors of the Public Affairs Council in Washington, D.C. Berkey received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College.

Melinda Caltabiano, Council Chair

Melinda Caltabiano is the Director of Clinical Services at New York Blood Center (NYBC). In addition to overseeing NYBC’s three NMDP/BTM programs (Apheresis Center, Donor Center, and Recruitment Group) Melinda manages the Clinical Apheresis Services and Perioperative Autologus Transfusion departments. Melinda has been with NYBC since 1993 in a variety of roles. Melinda took a two-year hiatus from NYBC in 1998 to serve in the United States Peace Corps in Slovakia, working on local environmental projects and youth development programs. Currently Melinda serves as Chair of the Council Advisory Group and is a member of the Board Development Committee, the Phoenix Oversight Committee, Diversity Advisory Group and the Patient Services Advisory Group. Melinda has a BA from Manhattan College and earned her Master’s Degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Public Finance from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Nelson J. Chao, M.D., M.B.A

Dr. Chao is Donald D. and Elizabeth G. Cooke Professor in Cancer Research and a Professor of Medicine and Immunology and the chief of the Division of Hematological Malignancies and the Division of Cellular Therapy/BMT at Duke University. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, M.D. from Yale University and his post-graduate training at Stanford University. He was the associate director of Stem Cell Transplantation at Stanford University prior to moving to Duke University in 1996 as the director of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Program. He is also the co-director of the Clinical Stem Cell Transplantation Laboratory and continues to direct his own research laboratory focused on understanding and preventing graft-versus-host disease and improving immune reconstitution. He is also the director of Global Cancer for the Duke Cancer Institute and the Duke Global Health Institute. In 2012, he became the chief of the Division of Hematological Malignancies. He obtained his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in 2000. He is the author of over 200 peer-reviewed papers, 25 book chapters and one book. He is also a co-founder of two start-up biotechnology companies in Research Triangle Park, Aldagen and C2 Regenerate.

Michael T. Davenport, Esquire

Michael is vice president, Strategic Planning for Wyndham Vacation Rentals, North America, in Parsippany, N.J. Wyndham Vacation Rentals is the largest professional manager of vacation rentals in the world with more than 100,000 properties in over 500 destinations. Prior to that, he spent seven years at Starwood Hotels and Resorts in a series of roles in Operations, Strategy, and Real Estate. He received his Juris Doctorate from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Ill., and a Master in Business Administration from Harvard School of Business. He joined the NMDP Board of Directors in 2013 and has served on the Audit Committee and Diversity Advisory Group.

Pankaj (P.J.) Kamani

P.J. Kamani operates ABC Language Services, a company that provides translation, interpretation and website localization services. He has also served as managing director and partner for Alexander FX, a financial services company specializing in innovative investment banking, and as vice president of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. He has served as a member of the NMDP’s Finance Committee for the past six years and on the NMDP’s Investment Committee for four. Kamani holds an MBA in international finance from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Business Administration in international management from Haile Selassie I University.

John McMannis, M.D., Ph.D

John McMannis is executive vice president, Manufacturing, Mesoblast, Inc., Melbourne, Australia. His prior experience includes serving as director, Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation; and technical director, Cord Blood Bank, both at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. He has had numerous peer-reviewed, original research articles published, as well as abstracts and book chapters. He currently serves as editor, Transfusion, and reviewer of the journals: Cytotherapy, European Journal of Hematology, AABB Reviews, Experimental Hematology, Transfusion, Bioprocessing, and Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He is a member of American Association of Blood Banks Cell Therapy Committee, American Red Cross Blue Ribbon Panel Research and Development Committee, American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, American Association of Immunologists, American Society of Hematology and many others. McMannis received his Ph.D. in immunology from Rush University, Chicago, Ill.

Eneida R. Nemecek, M.D., M.B.A

Dr. Nemecek is associate professor of Pediatrics/Hematology-Oncology at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Oreg. She joined the NMDP board of directors in January 2010. She also serves as medical monitor of CIBMTR and pediatric scientific liaison for NHLBI/Bone Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network. Her areas of research include outcomes and complications of bone marrow transplantation, patient and donor safety, cord blood banking and procurement of marrow donors from ethnically diverse backgrounds. She received her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and completed her residency at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. She completed her fellow in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology and Master in Epidemiology at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash. and a Master in Business Administration and Health Care Management at Oregon Health and Science University.

David L. Porter, M.D.

Dr. Porter is a member of the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He is a recipient of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Service to Mankind Award, which is bestowed for “dedicated service to the highest standards of the medical profession, his humanistic approach to patient care, and his tireless efforts in researching cures for blood cancers.” He has authored more than 100 research articles, abstracts, and book chapters, is an associate editor for the American Journal of Hematology and has served as a manuscript reviewer for numerous medical journals, including Blood, Annals of Internal Medicine and The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Porter has expertise in the care of patients with hematologic malignancies including acute and chronic leukemia, and in all aspects of autologous, related donor, unrelated donor and umbilical cord blood SGT. He has developed or been an active participant in numerous local and national research activities. He is an accomplished clinical investigator and has published extensively in the field of stem cell transplantation and hematologic malignancies. His principal research interests are in development of novel methods of cellular therapy, stem cell transplantation and of allogeneic adoptive immunotherapy.

Brian J. Reithel, Ph.D.

Dr. Brian Reithel is Professor of Management Information Systems at The University of Mississippi. He has been a faculty member and consultant in the information technology field since 1984. In addition to serving as Dean of the School of Business Administration, he has served in a variety of other leadership roles at UM including: Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relations, Co-Director of the $525 million Commitment to Excellence Campaign, Interim Director of the Trent Lott Leadership Institute, Co-Chair of the Sesquicentennial Celebration, and Chair of the MIS/POM Department. A prolific scholar, he has authored more than 80 research articles and papers for leading journals and scientific conferences. He is also a trusted source for the popular press on questions related to emerging information technologies with appearances in PC World magazine, Inc Magazine, The New York Times, ComputerWorld, National Public Radio and more. In 2005, he served as the national President of the Association of IT Professionals, the world’s oldest association for the information technology industry. He has also served as the President of the national Foundation for Information Technology Education. Since 2002, he has provided strategic guidance for the development of one of today’s leading blood establishment computer systems, LifeTec Elite, through his involvement with IT Synergistics, LLC.

David M. Schubert, MBA

David M. Schubert is executive director of the Houston Area Translational Research Consortium (HATRC), a biotechnology-based non-for-profit organization that advances new technologies with a label-backward approach. From 2005-2012, Mr. Schubert was the president and chief business officer of Accelerator Corporation, a venture capital backed investment vehicle located in Seattle, Wash. In 2000, he was the Founder and President of CellExSys, Inc, a biotechnology company focused on the creation of personalized medicines for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Mr. Schubert is chairman of the board of Axonia Medical, a member of the board of directors of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ABPI) and serves on the Finance Committee of the board of directors of The National Marrow Donor Program. He holds an MBA degree with concentrations in Marketing and Management from The Pennsylvania State University, an MS in Biology with a concentration in Immunology from Utah State University and a BS in Biology and a BA in Psychology from Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Robert J. Soiffer, M.D.

Dr. Robert Soiffer received his M.D. from the New York University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital where he also served as Chief Medical Resident. He completed fellowship in medical oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Robert J. Soiffer, M.D. is currently Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is Chief of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies, Vice-Chairman of Medical Oncology, and Co-Director of Bone Marrow Transplant Service at DFCI. Dr. Soiffer is a former President of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He served on the advisory board for the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research and the Executive Steering Committees for Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network. He has published more than 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Soiffer’s research focuses on modulation of immune responses in the setting of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The ultimate goal for his clinical trials and research grants is to optimize graft-versus-leukemia activity without inducing graft-versus-host disease.

Zbigniew (Ziggy) M. Szczepiorkowski, M.D., Ph.D., FCAP

Dr. Szczepiorkowski is an associate professor of pathology and of medicine at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, as well as medical director of the Transfusion Medicine Service and director of the Cellular Therapy Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. He is also an investigator at Norris Cotton Cancer Center and a consultant in pathology services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is past president of the American Society for Apheresis, a co-leader of the Cellular Therapy Team of the BEST Collaborative, and a secretary of the AABB BOD. He has served on multiple NIH review panels and committees of AABB, American Society for Apheresis, College of American Pathologists, International Society of Blood Transfusion, Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy, ICCBBA, and Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. He has more than 70 peer-reviewed publications in the field of laboratory medicine, cellular therapy, apheresis and transfusion medicine. He serves as editor of the Journal of Clinical Apheresis and Vox Sanguinis. Dr. Szczepiorkowski obtained his doctorate in medicine at the Medical Center for Postgraduate Education in Warsaw. He was a resident and chief resident in clinical pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was also a Grove-Rasmussen transfusion medicine fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dennis M. Todd, Ph.D.

Dr. Todd is a resident of Tuxedo, New York and joined Community Blood Services as its president and CEO in 2000. Community Blood Services operates the New Jersey Cord Blood Bank and The HLA Registry bone marrow donor center, both affiliated with the National Marrow Donor Program. Previously, Dr. Todd was the director of Research at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey. He was also a principal and executive vice president of the GenCare Biomedical Research Corporation in Mountainside, New Jersey; vice president for Operations of Lifecodes Corporation in Elmsford, New York; and assistant director of BioSciences Laboratories in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Todd is a past president of the New Jersey Academy of Science, has held various academic appointments, and authored and published numerous scientific papers and abstracts. He is a member of The International Society for Cellular Therapy, the International Society for Stem Cell Research, the AABB, the American Association of Bioanalysts and the New Jersey Society of Blood Bank Professionals. He is presently a member of the NMDP Finance Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. He received his Master of Science and Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Lehigh University.

Kimberly Kasow Wichlan, D.O.

Kimberly Kasow Wichlan, an associate clinical professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is the director of Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant program, the medical director of the Bone Marrow Collection Facility , and the Transplant Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement medical director. She is a member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only public comprehensive cancer center in North Carolina. She previously served as medical director of Bone Marrow Collections and Transplant Quality Officer at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee, where she was the 2008 recipient, Outstanding Physician of the Year. She began her academic career as a Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology/ Bone Marrow Transplant Fellow at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and later became an assistant member prior to her move to North Carolina. She completed her pediatric residency Columbus Children's Hospital (now Nationwide Children’s) in Columbus, Ohio. She is involved in the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) and her academic interests include transplantation for osteopetrosis and late effects/quality of life after hematopoietic cell transplantation.